Music Week: Confessions of a Soundtrack Geek - Part Two

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Music Week: Confessions of a Soundtrack Geek - Part Two

One World Trade Center under construction, May 10, 2011. Photo: Sam Gustin/Wired.com

Earlier this week I discussed some of the great movie scores that I love and listen to often; this time I'll be looking at TV series scores. Many TV shows don't have much in the way of scores, relying instead on a soundtrack of popular music, but the ones that do often have scores that could rival those of major films. Once again, short clips of some of my favourites are available where linked thanks to Amazon, iTunes and La La Land Records.

The X-Files has nearly always been my favourite TV show right back to being a young child, but up until recently there was almost no music available from the show barring the two movie scores and the theme song (which incidentally reached number two on the UK singles chart and stayed there for three weeks - testament to the show's popularity at the time). That was until La La Land Records put out a four CD box set in May 2011, and fans crashed the label's website approximately thirty seconds later in their excitement to buy copies. The X-Files had some of the most distinctive music of any TV show ever, progressing gradually over the nine seasons from the entirely synthesizer created early nineties sounds of season one to more orchestral pieces by the show's demise in 2002. An orchestra was first brought in for the X-Files film in 1998 and it was only in season six that actual musicians were first used for the show instead of the synthesizers.

Unlike in many TV shows where a theme or leitmotif is created for a character or season then used repeatedly in various ways over multiple episodes, nearly all of the music for each episode is unique. The only character to get a "theme" is Scully, who got a hauntingly tragic piece named for her and used in several episodes throughout season eight, it is considered by both fans and show creator Chris Carter alike to be one of the greatest pieces series composer Mark Snow ever created. The famous six note classic show theme is rarely used as a motif outside the credits but the few times it is used, it is done so with great effect such as the warm string version at the very end of the series finale as we finally see Mulder and Scully together in one another's arms. The theme music to The X-Files must be one of the most culturally significant ever created. Even today those six notes can be hummed to suggest that something weird or creepy is going on without ever having to say a word.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHHGh6kAbMU[/youtube]

Most of the music from the show flits between the ominous and the tragic, and even the music from light-hearted moments maintains a dark theme; an example being "JJ's Diner" from "comedy" episode "The Post-Modern Prometheus" which sounds like a macabre carousel. I once listened to the box set as I walked around the summer fair at my local primary school and I had to switch it off as I kept looking around to spot the terrifying thing about to happen somewhere. I certainly do not recommend you listen to this at night in a darkened house - proof of just how effective Snow's music is, even without the visual accompaniment it was designed for. For me, this five-hour-long box set was easily the best $50 I have ever spent on music and I am already excited at the prospect of volume two.

Doctor Who is a show that has truly embraced its score with new albums being released for each season and also the specials, since the show regenerated in 2005. There has also been a special charity event where music from the first two seasons of "New Who" was performed and two concerts put on as part of the BBC Proms seasons in 2008 and again in 2010. The show has a distinctive sound courtesy of composer Murray Gold and orchestrator/conductor Ben Foster who have been at the show's musical helm since the revival. It uses the BBC National Orchestra giving it a big sound scope, more like a film score than a TV one. One of the interesting things about the show is how the episodes vary from complete comedy to drama and tragedy. The Doctor being an immensely complex character, this gives the score a really varied feel.

The theme tune is one of the oldest TV themes ever created and it has not changed much since its original incarnation back in 1963 when it was one of the most unique sounding things on TV; in fact the theme to Doctor Who was one of the first themes ever to use electronic music. Although minor variations have been introduced over the years, occasionally to mild hostility from fans, the theme is still largely the same as it was almost fifty years ago.

If you want a unique music experience, you can look no further than the score albums from* Twin Peaks*. Famed for its surreal, unsettling style, Twin Peaks used music to help create the distinctive style of the show with unusual sounding instruments and a lot of odd, often discordant freestyle jazz. Finger clicking and lounge music featured heavily, along with simple piano music as used in "Laura Palmer's Theme", this was after all a show often heavily focused on tragedy and heartbreak. Just listening to the score can create a sense of the disturbing feelings you would often experience whilst watching the show, this is not music to listen to on a bad day. In the past few months, David Lynch has released many previously unreleased Twin Peaks tracks via his website, these are available to stream for free or you can pay to download permanent copies. A score was also released from the less successful film sequel/prequel Fire, Walk With Me and fans may be interested to note that Moby sampled "Laura Palmer's Theme" in his song "Go".

Another show that used utterly unique music in its score was Joss Whedon's cult classic Firefly. Mixing together Western style acoustic guitars with bluegrass, orchestral string sections, traditional Chinese music and even hints of Bollywood, the music perfectly compliments the 'Verse that the crew of the Serenity travel. The music seems to fit the culture of the outlying planets, it is folksy and traditional yet nothing that actually exists today; sounding as if it is the music created when the people of all Earth cultures are brought together to establish a new culture of their own, all bringing with them their own traditions and music heritage which combine into a new sound with echoes of them all. The soundtrack is therefore eclectic, yet manages to retain a distinctive and recognisable style throughout.

It is rather unusual for a documentary series to have a score as interesting as the show itself but this was certainly the case for Wonders of The Universe. Composed by Sheridan Tongue who has also created the score for Stephen Hawking's Universe, this is dramatic and beautiful music created to compliment stunning visuals of the most spectacular things in our universe. It is often loud and bold, not the usual subtle background music from a TV score. My only complaint with this album is how short it is, with most of the sixteen tracks around two minutes, there is simply not enough of it.